LIGO Seminar

On the hunt for continuous gravitational waves from unknown neutron stars in binary systems

Evan , Goetz, PMA - LIGO, Caltech

Non-axisymmetric, rapidly rotating neutron stars are predicted to emit quasi-monochromatic gravitational waves. Accretion from a companion star in a binary system may drive asymmetries of the neutron star, causing it to emit gravitational waves, perhaps even after accretion has subsided. Searching for unknown sources in binary systems is a significant computational challenge. In this talk, I wil describe a search method, called TwoSpect, that has been developed to search for unknown sources in binary systems; show results from the TwoSpect search of initial LIGO/Virgo data; discuss directed searches for sources such as Scorpius X-1; describe new methods to improve the sensitivity of TwoSpect and other semi-coherent methods; and provide an outlook on TwoSpect in the advanced detector era.

We plan to broadcast these talks using TeamSpeak. Use a sub-channel of

LIGO Lab called "LIGO Seminar", which is not password protected.

NOTE: These and all other scheduled LIGO seminars are listed on the LIGO

Laboratory seminar calendar

OR on LIGO Website: Click on LIGO CIT, under Calendars, see LIGO Seminar